


see this through

by xxcaribbean



Category: One Direction (Band), Real Person Fiction
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkwardness, Fluff, M/M, ziam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-01
Updated: 2013-05-01
Packaged: 2017-12-10 02:07:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/780528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxcaribbean/pseuds/xxcaribbean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>although liam's not overly friendly with strangers (especially on a plane), the one he ends up sitting next to on a flight manages to gain his attention and his comfort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	see this through

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paradice (october)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/october/gifts).



> [based of this prompt](http://xprdc.tumblr.com/post/45434639001/prompt-54)

Liam’s typically the last one to board his flights. It’s not that he doesn’t get to the airport an hour or two ahead of schedule like one is typically supposed to, and it isn’t because he has a nervous breakdown from the idea of getting onto a metal can that will eventually lift itself so far high up in the air it’s difficult to see the ground below. No, Liam’s usually the last person to board his plane because he’s too busy going over a list of things he’d packed and what he might’ve possibly forgotten. It’s a way for him to feel secure and organized when crowded in a small area with a lot of people.

He’s more afraid of them than the actual thought of crashing and dying. But he deals with it anyway, with his numbers and properness. Slight OCD, he’d been labeled, and while there’s generally a negative stigmatism associated with a disorder of any kind, Liam’s lucky enough to have it work in his favor in regards to his job and being precise and on time. It also tends to include him having to give presentations to those higher up in the office food chain, and that alone can send him into a frenzy, but he handles it well enough because a large part of his therapy is the flight to the places he’s assigned. On the way home, however, he focuses on his luggage and the thought of finally sleeping in his own bed.

When Liam’s finished handing over his ticket - carryon bag hooked over his shoulder - the woman standing beside the doors that’ll lead him to his plane, hands him back his information with a grand smile on her face and a quick  _enjoy your flight_. Liam’s always decent and ends up telling her  _thank you_.

The walk to the plane is no bother either. Liam’s positive he’s the last to board again given that he hadn’t seen anyone else in line. It’s better this way, he believes, not only for his nerves when thinking about who he’ll end up sitting next to but people aren’t rushing around trying to get to the same destination they’re all trying to get at, and it’ll be easier to locate his seat once the majority of people have settled.

When he gets on, there’s a flight attendant that points him in the general direction of his seat. Liam’s nice, again, and gives a nod of the head as a thank you before trying to find his exact position on the plane. He tries not to pay attention to the set of lingering eyes that roam over him as people sit idle, apparently bored and waiting for takeoff. It’s something Liam’s not particularly fond of, but he puts up with it because it doesn’t cause a scene in terms of having to squeeze past people just to continue on down the aisle if he'd been one of the firsts to board.

Liam eventually makes it to his row of seats where he finds that a younger gentleman, probably around Liam’s age if he’s guessing correctly, is already sitting down next to the window. Liam stows his bag in the overhead compartment before taking his place by settling into his seat – the middle one, as it just so happens – and trying his best not to make too much noise in trying to get comfortable in fear of sitting next to someone who tends to complain a lot. But nothing is said, and Liam finally settles down before things really get going.

It takes another ten minutes or so before there’s an announcement that the plane is ready to leave. They buckle their seatbelts, phones are turned off; the attendants go through their safety instructions and when Liam tries to rest his elbow on the armrest, it comes in contact with a hand.

“Oh,” Liam says quietly. He pulls back and looks over to his right where the young lad is currently staring straight ahead, hand gripped around the armrest. Liam swallows before casually looking the stranger up and down and taking in his current apprehension. “Are you alright?”

It takes a moment or two for those words to process, it seems, because Liam ends up getting a late response and only a nod soon after. Liam can’t help but feel a little brushed off, so he leaves it alone and concentrates on the fact that the plane is beginning to move.

It’s only when the plane is at an easy angle, where they’re leaned back in their seat and heading towards the sky, awaiting for the pilot to properly level out the plane, does Liam finally realize that everything isn’t really okay. He’s completely forgotten about going over his checklist again, doesn’t bother surveying the people on the plane with him just because it helps pass the time either, because as soon as he chances a glance over to his side, that’s when he sees teeth nearly gnawing on lip so hard that it might just draw blood.

Liam purses his own lips, turns his head forward and debates on the proper thing to do in a situation like this. See, he knows what’s going on because Liam remembers he’d been more than a little jumpy on his first flight, but the guy next to him might nearly hurt himself (even if it is only his lip), and Liam doesn’t want that. So Liam takes a deep breath, avoiding every instinct within him that tells him this is a bad idea, and ever so slowly places his pale hand on top of one that is tan.

At first, nothing happens, and just like before with Liam’s question and the stranger processing it, it seems to take a few moments to realize what Liam had done because after a click or so, two big, round eyes are on Liam.

Nobody says anything, but the biting on the lips has stopped and if anything, Liam feels better about that. He notices, because he really can’t help it when he’s currently staring at someone who is really attractive now that he can better see their entire profile and not just the side of their face, that they’re moist and slightly redder from having been through the ringer.

Eventually the stranger turns away from him, and Liam sits still for the next couple of minutes until the plane is normal and the light goes off, letting people know that they can remove their seatbelts. Liam takes his off with his free hand while the other continues to rest on top of very warm skin. It isn’t until there’s a little wiggle that Liam finally relents his hold. He ends up side-eyeing the guy from beside him, watches as his hands shake while trying to remove the belt from around his waist.

Liam continues to keep his mouth shut. He’d taken a risk by even offering the slightest amount of comfort, but now another worry sets in that maybe he might’ve gone too far with the touching. Liam debates with himself on whether or not it’s a good idea to actually apologize and explain his intention but then the stranger next to him is clearing his throat, trying to gain Liam’s attention.

“Can I, uh-”

Liam looks over to his side and waits patiently for the rest of the sentence to be revealed, and when it looks like it’s tough going on the other lads part, Liam quirks up the side of his mouth in encouragement, an effort to show him that he’s nice.

“Would it be okay if we switched seats?”

The stranger’s accent is thicker on his tongue than Liam’s. His pronunciation isn’t as clear-cut either, but Liam understands nonetheless.

“Or not. If you don’t- uh, it’s not a problem.”

But Liam rapidly shakes his head. “Not a fan of the window?” he murmurs. The male nods in response, to which Liam returns with a bright smile. “Okay, we can do that.”

And it’s more than awkward, to say the least. Liam decides to stand up first, but then the stranger does too, and they’re both kind of blocked until Liam takes a few steps backwards. By the time he’s done that, the male – who Liam realizes he doesn’t know the name of – is moving over into Liam’s old seat, and then Liam, unfortunately, has to squeeze past the small area between knees and the back of the airplane seat in front of their row.

Liam’s quite tall, and not really as small as his airline companion, so when he tries to move over, he knocks into the stranger, and by then Liam’s become a bumbling mess of words full of apologies until he’s able to turn himself around and finally sit down. He keeps his eyes on his feet, never once bothering to look up until the slight flush of his cheeks have settled. Liam thinks he feels eyes on him, studying him too, which makes it worse because while Liam’s red, he’d rather people not notice the way he gets flustered over nothingness, let alone the person next to him.

But no further comment is given, and Liam’s able to finally sit comfortably. The pair don’t make any other move to talk and eventually they both occupy themselves with things to do: Liam staring out of the window, and the other lad reading a book.

Liam’s not quite sure how much time passes between the beginning of the flight to now, but what he does know is that the plane rattles a bit in between that time span, as to be expected, and then a hand is gripping his arm so tightly, Liam ends up wincing.

“Sorry,” comes the voice to Liam’s left, now that he’s switched seats. Liam just glances down at the fingers curled around his arm until he looks up with kind eyes. After all of that, they eventually settle in again, Liam occupying his time by trying not to fall asleep. It’s not that he hadn’t brought anything to do either, but he’d rather not get up to get his bag and asking the person next to him to help him out by grabbing his things for him is most certainly out of the question given that they’re dead set on reading and trying not to freak out by being on a plane.

Liam ends up forming a question, one that ends up on the tip of his tongue, wanting to know if maybe this is the first time the other guy’s been on a plane, even if it may be kind of obvious. He knows that a lot of people never settle with it well regardless of how many times they’ve been on one, but then he thinks he might be annoying if he were to voice his curiosity out loud. So Liam backs down and withdraws into his world again.

He ends up nearly nodding off to sleep a couple of times and just when he thinks he’s about to get to the point where he might fall asleep, the plane ends up rattling slightly again. There are a few murmurs of annoyance from various people on the plane, but Liam’s used to the unexpected that flights may cause. However, Liam also hears a deep breath being taken beside him and absentmindedly inches his hand over before it’s brushing up against another. While he does so, he keeps his eyes strictly on the window, staring out at the blue sky and random spots of clouds they’re surrounded with before he makes any further movement. When all seems well, he eventually gets a finger hooked around another until his hand slowly slides against the strangers’ in a perfect fit.

His heart is racing, and he hopes the palm of his hand isn’t overly sweaty either, but Liam squeezes the lads hand anyway, once in reassurance and twice just to make sure, before settling with the idea that what he’s doing is perfectly normal. It’s okay to help someone if they’re a little scared, and even if they weren’t comfortable with the amount of skin contact that Liam has so far willingly given, then they probably would’ve spoken up awhile ago in protest.

There’s not much to do on an airplane, and while Liam regrets not getting his carry-on bag, his eyelids eventually begin to close and sleep comes to take him away. He ends up sleeping for a solid hour or two before there’s an announcement made by one of the flight attendants that has him waking up from his sleep. They’re told that they’re about to land, that it’s best to go ahead and put their seatbelts on again because they’ll be stopping shortly.

So when Liam makes a move to grab his seatbelt, he ends up pulling at excess weight and realizes that his hand is still intertwined with the stranger he’d completely forgotten about.

Said stranger is only just now blinking awake too, now that Liam cautiously glances over at him. Liam ends up putting two and two together and further realizes that they both must’ve fallen asleep, which explains the continuous hand holding. But Liam, as quickly and unnoticeably as he can, pulls his arm back and worries at his lip in hopes that the man sitting beside him won’t notice.

Turns out, the guy doesn’t because he blinks awake and realizes exactly what’s going on. He quickly buckles his seatbelt, hands gripping onto the armrests as if that might save him from the plane actually having a serious accident. Liam, on the other hand, feels incredibly horrible, and it takes him a couple of seconds to convince himself to do what he’d done before. He ends up prying off long, thin fingers curled so deeply into the fabric on the plane before replacing it with his own hand to curl around instead. There’s a raise of some eyebrows, a definite silent question of wonder before the plane really begins to start heading downwards at a slight angle. The thoughts of before are quickly forgotten in favor of nearly squeezing Liam’s hand off.

Liam thinks he sees his fingers turn a shade of purple, but he can’t be sure because all Liam does is casually look over at the guy sitting beside him so he can give him random encouraging and reassuring smiles to let him know they’ll be okay. “It’s almost over,” he whispers just so that the two of them can hear. His only acknowledgement is a shake of the head and eyes squeezed shut but Liam hangs on until the plane finally lands, and they’re told they can exit.

When Liam makes to stand up, he’s nearly pulled back by a force until he realizes what he’s done again, that his hand is still connected to someone else’s. And when he finally sits back down on the edge of his seat, trying not to look overly sheepish, he licks the front of his teeth and decides to explain. “I’m sorry,” he admits. He gently pulls back his hand and watches as the stranger looks over at him through thick, black eyelashes. His face is very defined by angles, and Liam would otherwise be taken if he wasn’t in the position to apologize for his actions.“You were scared, and it’s probably what I would’ve wanted someone else to do if it’d been me. I don’t- I hope it wasn’t too weird or anything.” Liam shrugs and looks down at the floor. There are still people getting their stuff and leaving the plane, but he also realizes he’s blocked himself in, and there’s no way to escape this odd conversation unless he tries to get past legs and seat. Which, to be honest, Liam would rather wait for that seeing as the first time was just clumsy and unplanned.

“It’s fine.”

Liam whips his head up and can’t help the small smile that takes over his face. “Sure.”

The stranger then moves out of his seat, grabs his own stuff from the overhead and makes his way down the plane to exit, leaving Liam to finally get up and get his own stuff. He’s back home in London now, and while it looks like the weather isn’t all that nice (from what he can see out of the little windows), he’s coming back from a long weekend away spent for business.

When Liam’s fully off the plane and heading towards baggage claim, he spots his stranger standing there as well, and Liam thinks it’s best to leave him be, to remain a nameless figure in his head. But as much as Liam’s a little too hesitant to talk to people, he doesn’t think he’ll be able to live without knowing a name. He tries telling himself that his OCD won’t let him, but truthfully, that’d be a bit of a lie.

“I didn’t catch your name,” Liam declares as he gets closer to the rotating belt full of luggage.

The stranger is startled, but gives a half smile when he finds that it’s Liam. “I could say the same thing.”

Liam’s eyebrows raise up, and he snorts. “Sorry. Not very good at talking. I’m Liam.” He takes a split second to decide on whether or not to hold out his hand in a proper greeting, but then he thinks better of it in favor of shoving his hand into his pocket.

“Zayn.” As soon as he says it, everything clicks for Liam. The actions and the tension of fear on the plane now belong to not just a face, but a name and to a  _person_. Before he knows it, Zayn already has his luggage and is walking Liam’s way before he stops and tilts his head. Liam can see a small blush tint his cheeks, but Zayn continues holding his gaze. “Thank you.”

Aside from his accent being thicker than Liam’s, the words are clear as day and leave Liam to duck his head in shyness. “You’re welcome,” he says, because even if Liam would like to shrug it off, it’s polite to accept near compliments.

“I’ll see you around, yeah?”

There’s a nudge on Liam’s shoulder, a way for Zayn to capture his attention, he bets, until he lifts up his head to find kindness and something else he can’t quite describe written in hazel orbs.

“Maybe,” he answers, and then Zayn is suddenly gone. Liam looks around to see if he can spot the other lad in the haze of people bustling about, but he doesn’t. He stands there in a bit of a daze until he remembers that he has yet to get his luggage, and once he does that, he makes towards the exit in hopes of finding a taxi to drive him home.

He does. It turns out a lot easier than he had imagined, and by the time they’re pulling up to Liam’s little flat, he sticks his hand into one of his pockets to pull out money to pay for the ride. Although when he does, Liam doesn’t just pull out his wallet, but a wadded up tissue that hadn’t been there before. When he quickly unfolds it, his eyes widen because there in scribbled black ink is a number written hastily across a clean napkin.

He figures maybe his hand holding gesture hadn’t been so bad after all.


End file.
